Batman Assault on Arkham Review

Posted on October 10, 2014 by dreager1

Batman gets another film to add to his impressive roster with this installment. It’s always good to see the Dark Knight in action and his scenes are easily the best part of the film. Of course, that ends up putting the film in a tough spot since it is really about the villains so Batman’s role is smaller than usual. This is a decision that ends up backfiring!

Amanda Waller knocks out a group of dangerous criminals and forces them to form the Suicide Squad. Refusal to comply with her orders will result in their immediate termination by a bomb that has been implanted inside of them. Their task is to retrieve the Riddler’s staff so now they have to break into Arkham Asylum. The members include King Shark, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Black Spider and Killer Frost. Of course, the mission won’t go very smoothly since Batman is always ready to defend his city and the Asylum does have some dangerous criminals like the Joker inside of it. Will these villains really follow their orders or will they go rogue?

Well, the film mostly plays out how you would expect based off of the plot and you may remember the Task Force from the Justice League show. Unfortunately, these guys definitely cannot hold their own film and you’ll find yourself waiting for Batman to show up. The episode in the Justice League show worked in its own way, although it’s one of the most inaccurate episodes to date. There are definitely a lot of plot hax to help the villains go along here as well since they aren’t strong enough to survive otherwise. Before going into the character selection, let’s address some of the negatives.

One of them is that the film has quite a lot of fanservice and fake romance that is pretty bad for the film. It happens quite a few times where the villains will strip down to trick the guards or to do a one night stand. These scenes are really unnecessary and they destroy any chance that the film had of being a solid installment to the DC universe. The film was just trying to show how evil the villains were and how they operate so differently from the heroes, but it just makes you dislike the cast more.

Ever since Flashpoint, (You can argue that we started getting there with Superman vs the Elite I suppose) DC has decided to ramp up the violence and to make the stories a little darker to fit the New 52 vibe. Even the stand alone titles like Son of Batman and Assault on Arkham are noticeably affected by this although a case can be made for Arkham that the fans would not expect anything less. Some scenes are fairly realistic like a person’s nose shattering when Batman punches it. Sure, that would likely happen, but do we really need to see it? It’s a small effect, but we get more drastic moments like heads blowing up and many expendables getting taken out. The whole atmosphere is just dark and it’s hard to enjoy the film when it acts like a common slasher. You’d think that you were watching Bleach or Resident Evil with how many people are taken out so quickly. Also, most of the scenes involve noncombatants, which can make it worse. I wouldn’t say that this film is as violent as Dark Knight Returns Part 2 or maybe Flashpoint, but it definitely ranks up there with some of the other recent titles and probably surpasses them.

Batman is naturally the best character here. He takes out random muggers while still being aware of the bigger picture. He arrives onto the scene pretty quickly once he finds out what’s going on and he proceeds to do a number on the villains. He’s outnumbered, but he really executes his moves with precision and skill. I can’t say that I had any problems with Batman’s portrayal here and it was really spot on. His only wavering moments may be when he has some trouble with Harley Quinn, but he still tends to pull a win out fairly quickly so I won’t take away any points there. This is why Batman’s still one of the best comic book characters out there.

Harley Quinn is in her recent version of the character and that happens to be the one that I really don’t like. The New 52 may have handled most of the characters pretty well, but Quinn was not one of them. She acts pretty crazy for most of the film, but it’s likely just an act as she proceeds to mess with anyone who gets in her way. She’s still pretty good with a gun and she now has some hand to hand techniques. Her constant flirting will immediately turn you off from her character though and even her start is way too randomly violent for you to start rooting for her.

Deadshot is essentially the leader of the Suicide Squad. He has a lot of experience and he has connections within Gotham. Everyone respects him as a natural leader and he basically gets what he wants. That being said, he has a kid as we can see from a picture that comes out a few times and he still indulges in a one night stand. That makes it hard to sympathize with him and you quickly lose respect for his character. He may be the leader, but he’s not even the strongest member there. I guess you can say that he’s like an evil Captain Kirk. He’s a natural leader, but he takes on his less desirable qualities as well.

Captain Boomerang doesn’t have much of an impact here compared to the other villains. He’s been through the Suicide Squad gig before and he doesn’t have a lot to lose. Unfortunately, he’s just another villain who is influenced by romance and he’s constantly getting outshined by Deadshot. Again, he doesn’t really have any likable qualities and he’s so weak that he really shouldn’t have survived the adventure. He’s really out of place here.

Black Spider claims to be a hero for the people as he destroys his opponents, but he doesn’t really pull this off. The Punisher still has his moral code that he doesn’t destroy innocents, but Black Spider takes out anyone who’s in his way. I like the name and he’s technically the best member here, but it’s a little hard to take him seriously. He threatens to take out the villains at one point, but then he just backs off for the rest of the film…the rest of the film…the rest of the film. You get the point. He proves that he is easily the best fighter of the group when he engages Batman and he’s someone who could probably hold his own film as the main villain, but we’ve already seen that moral in Superman vs The Elite so let’s not go there.

King Shark is sort of like Killer Shark only he’s DC’s villain. He has some mild super strength and his skin is hard enough to block bullets. It’s a little iffy there though since the bullets do seem to leave marks and bruises. He quickly becomes infatuated with Killer Frost, which ultimately leads to his demise as a character. He’s your average “Strong, but not smart” character and that’s the end of his development. He’s just there to get pummeled by good ole Batman!

Killer Frost is one of the more unlikable villains as she just plays King Shark off with her wiles while also choosing to dispose of cops in a romantic way when it’s completely not necessary. She’s the kind of character that I really don’t like as a villain. She never actually does well when the going gets tough and she’s the strongest villain here, but you really wouldn’t know it from watching the film. She puts her abilities to waste and you’d think that she could just freeze the bomb inside of her like any decent ice themed villain….

The Joker is back because you can’t really have a Batman film without him. It’s not one of his better designs, but we can deal with it. He’s shown to be a better hand to hand fighter than usual, but he is dealing with Deadshot. He actually forces Batman to retreat at one point due to some circumstances and his role gets to be decently large by the end. I’m still not a fan here though and he doesn’t look as intelligent as usual. He falls for the no bullets trick when he should have just fired and he definitely should have been destroyed by the guard that he met, but he has plot shielding with him.

We get a pair of guest stars in the forms of Poison Ivy and Bane, but they will likely not be pleasing appearances for their fans. Bane is purely mindless here as he just runs and destroys things. (Gone are the days when he was a master strategist, but he has been in Arkham for a while) Poison Ivy just seduces everyone that she can and she’s randomly taken down by some cops. At least Gotham PD (Or their special crimes unit anyway) can win once in a while.

The animation is pretty solid as we’ve come to expect for DC. The only moment that didn’t look very smooth was the opening where Batman arrives and then stands as still as a statue. His character model just felt a little odd there, but everything clicked into place as soon as the fights began. Batman has certainly gone through a lot of design changes over the years and this one is more similar to the late 80s or early 90s where he was very tall. It’s a good look and it helps during his fights against the villain powerhouses.

The soundtrack is pretty interesting and it’s a step up from what you can usually expect in these titles. There is a lot of electronic music to be found and I’m all for including more of that in the future films. It helps to make the fight scenes more exciting and a good soundtrack can really take you a long way.

In the end, this film just wasn’t one of DC’s better ones and I would actually say that it was a pretty weak title. The amount of fanservice in it was just way too excessive and they try to match that in violence as well. The whole montage for the villains at the beginning is basically just a time for you to wonder how the victim will die or be injured this time. Essentially, it’s a Batman story without Batman playing the center role and it doesn’t work. People end up buying Batman films and toys so much because they want to see Batman. Naturally, that’s why his name is on the title, but it’s only going to hurt future sales when fans realize that his role is so small.

Keep in mind though that the villains take the center stage isn’t a genre that I’m crazy about. It can be pulled off like in Ocean’s Eleven, but more often than not it will just end up like the Catwoman film. It’s why I’m not thrilled about getting a Suicide Squad or Sinister Six live action film. I did like TASM2 so in theory if can work if it’s still in that universe, but that may not even be the case anymore. (Also, if it was more like TASM1 in tone then it gets dicey again) Seeing the villains beat people who are even more evil is just not that appealing to me since they’re all just criminals in the end and that’s what this film is really about. (Although there are no worse criminals here except for the Joker)

The cherry on top depending on how you view the last scene is Batman’s threat to Waller. This scene can be pretty controversial depending on how you interpret Batman’s threat. Is he pulling another Batman Begins on us? I certainly hope not and I’m really trying to believe that he was just uttering an empty threat, but it’s just not very Batman like. So, I really think that it’s the former and that’s pretty unnecessary. Just don’t have Batman appear in the ending and then it’s fine, but throwing Batman in there brings up these questions. At least the Flash writer for DC comics can have some more fun with that since he’s already taken a shot at Batman Begins’ controversial decision in the comics…

Overall, I’d advise to skip Batman Assault on Arkham. If you’re a big fan of the games then you may still want to pick it up, but you’d be better off sticking with Batman Sub Zero or Mask of the Phantasm if you want a stand alone Batman film. This one just doesn’t feature the Dark Knight in it a whole lot and none of the Suicide Squad members are really that likable. There are also a lot of convenient plot moments here due to the circumstances and an easy two to pick out are the scenes where the Police Man didn’t shoot the Joker because he was busy looking at the grenade and the guy who was distracted by Harley Quinn instead of quickly taking down the group of villains. There are many more and it’s just a something that you can’t really avoid in this kind of film, but it can still be annoying since you’ll probably be rooting for the cops. (The non corrupt ones anyway) I have much higher hopes for the next Justice League film though and it should crush this one. Check out the trailer and you’ll be ready for the next adventure. At the very least, this one did inflate Batman’s dvd count and now I’ll be waiting for his next one.

Overall 4/10

Iron Man and Hulk Heroes United Review

Posted on September 16, 2014 by dreager1

Technically speaking there is no and in the title, but I don’t really care for using the & symbol that much and just leaving it blank could be odd. In this case, I’d say that using “and” is the right move. Is this film really as terrible as its reputation? Well, that would have been nearly impossible from the get go and it’s still a decently good Marvel film. The animation is the main thing that really holds it back. First off, let’s get the plot out of the way!

The Hulk and the Abomination get into a brawl as the film begins. The Hulk was just resting and showing the world that he is not to be trifled with so he wasn’t prepared for such an attack. The Hulk is quickly subdued (By a pair of robots…he did beat the Abomination btw!) and kidnapped. After the scientists realize that they are in over their heads, they leave. (They so say sorry though!) The Hulk breaks out the saves the Abomination’s life, but a spark escapes from the battle. Ironman appears and they quickly get into a fight. The Hulk quickly takes him down and they agree to make a temporary truce to defeat the mighty Zzzax. Ironman and Hulk are as different as two heroes can be and they Really don’t get along. Will they really be able to pull off such an ambitious team up!?

Well, that’s the plot in a nutshell! The film is a little over an hour, but they do try to cram a lot of things in. We get a bunch of Wendigo creatures at one point that really come out of nowhere! The Abomination is here of course and Zzzax serves as the main villain as he uses many of Ironman’s old armors. It’s a pretty good array of villains that we’ve got here and the film has almost nonstop action. What is keeping this film from cracking a solid 7 like your average action film? It’s the animation!

This film uses CG-I and that was mistake number one. Always go for Hand Drawn when you’re making a true animated film. Ironically, these graphics would be perfectly acceptable for a PS4 cash in game or something on the mobile. For a real video game or a film…this just won’t cut it! There is a lot of lag to be seen between character movements and the fight scenes can look really fake at times. The bullets leave random explosions when they hit that appear as if they were put on the Hulk’s character by photoshop. Nothing about this really screams professional and the animation really brings it down. Contrary to popular belief, animation is easily one of the most important factors in a film. It’s (nearly) as important as the writing. Examples of this include Samurai Jack and Symbiotic Titan. Both of those shows are in the pretty good range, but they easily could have jumped up an extra point or two into the great category. 1-2 points may sound pretty small, but considering that it is out of 10…that is a pretty big jump. Let’s face it, a 6/10 looks much worse than an 8/10 and a 2/10 is scarier than a 4/10. Two points can make a difference. In this case, the film lost a firm point with the animation.

That being said, if the movie was incredible in all of the other areas, I’m sure that it would have still done pretty well. The problem is that the rest of the film is really only average. The writing is what you would expect from Marvel. Ironman and Hulk have settled into their stereotypical personalities pretty well and you can really tell what they will say before they even speak. There are several puns in the film at least, but they aren’t as original as the ones over at DC. (Not to play the DC card this early in the fight…)

The soundtrack is actually really good in this film. I’ll say that it was one of the surprising positives involved. It really felt like they stole some music from the DCAU, but I’m not going to go there. Wherever the music was from, it was really good and it definitely made the film a little more enjoyable. A good tune can make everything seem cooler.

The film actually has some pretty deep environmental messages. Zzzax isn’t completely bad as he just wants to protect the planet from the humans who continue to fill the landfills across the world. As with Ultron, Zzzax realizes that the extinction of mankind is the only way to save the day. Ironman reminds him that humans are still a pretty young race and that they are getting closer to using clean energy. It’s all empty words and Zzzax knows it. Humans continue to use up more and more power while polluting the planet, but I suppose that it’s an issue for another time. Still, it was interesting that Marvel added this part in and combined with the elements from the Technovore film…maybe they will start including things like this in their films. I’m always ready to talk about the environment so I wouldn’t mind seeing it in the film.

So, there isn’t a whole lot to say about Ironman and Hulk. Ironman loves to find some humor in the situations that he gets involved in and he’s pretty proud of himself. He takes the credit for everything and he acts as if he was tougher than everyone else. He’s so confident that he will beat the Hulk until he’s quickly crushed. He’s a pretty good character here since he doesn’t have time to fulfill his less desirable character traits in the film. Trying to blast Hulk in the eyes wasn’t cool even though he claimed that it could help the Hulk. (He didn’t try again so I’m not sure if I buy that) The Hulk is also what you would expect. This is the smarter Hulk that we are used too from the various Avenger cartoons. He puts Abomination in his place, but he’s easily crushed by robots several times in the films. He’s another big punching bag when it all boils down to it. It’s a trait that many superheroes have at this point. They act all high and mighty, but they crumble at the first attack from a decent villain. It’s films like this that really make me pick Link or Gagaga Girl in a fight against these guys.

Zzzax has a pretty nifty design and he makes for a good villain. The way that he talks can be annoying though since he has a hisssssss for each word and he likes to take his time a little too much. Abomination is another confident fighter who can’t back up his tough words. He also has a fun CGI design for this one. Power wise, he does seem to be clearly outmatched by the Hulk though. The Wendigos didn’t have any character in this film, but maybe that’s for the best.

Surprisingly, the movie actually drags on a bit. It’s only a little over an hour, but thanks to the CGI it’ll feel like a lot longer. Each fight scene looks the same and you’ll get tired of seeing the two heroes getting beaten up by the electro robots for so long. They’re basically powerless and it’s more than a little embarrassing. It really could have ended after the first 30 minutes and it may have been a little cooler. It would have had the same score though so maybe this is for the best. Ironically, the fact that it’s pure action without much plot gives it a lot of replay value. This is actually a film that I wouldn’t mind rewatching in the near future.

We can’t forget to mention that there is an after credits scene! It leads into the next film for those of you who are actually interested. I guess the writers really want to keep things confined though since the two scientists from this film seem like they will be returning with a new threat. It’s an epic scene in theory, but not in execution as the film couldn’t really make the scene as threatening and intense as it really could have been.

Comparing this to DC’s last big superhero team up..it’s pretty sad. Superman/Batman Apocalypse (Notice how I appropriately switched the title a little bit?) smashed this film in animation, crushed it in fight scenes, demolished it in character development, burned it in pacing, and thoroughly destroyed it overall. This is why I don’t even think that there is a debate in as far as who creates the better films/TV shows overall between Marvel and DC. DC is just too good at this point. I don’t think that Marvel will ever make a film to match the DC title that I mentioned. It’s bold, but I seriously don’t think that Marvel has it in them. We can hope of course. (While we are “hoping” I’ll be checking out Throne of Atlantis!)

Overall, This film is nowhere near as bad as the reviews suggest. It’s par for the course for Marvel and while it’s nothing special, it’s nothing bad either. It’s just a good action story where we get to see two iconic heroes team up. It could certainly be a lot worse and one plus is that it’s always enjoyable to see a classic Avengers battle. I like to think that Ironman would have won the battle though and Jarvis’ statistics seemed flawed. No way does the power type end up beating the speed type more often than not. The only reason why Ironman was humiliated in that fight was because he wasn’t fighting properly. The point of a speed type is to use your speed…not fly right into the power type to make it a fist fight. I recommend checking this out if you’re just looking for a casual watch (Since this is basically just a pilot to “insert any Marvel show” it works as a Saturday Morning Cartoon) to see your favorite Marvel heroes duking it out. Of course, I would sooner just recommend watching the original Ultimate Avengers since that one was pretty solid! (The Hulk fight there was intense!)

Overall 6/10

Aladdin Review

Posted on August 30, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for a classic film review. This title is basically the opposite of TMNT in many ways. Aladdin is a heartwarming story about a man who must risk life and limb to stop the evil plots of those who would harm the kingdom and Princess Jasmine. His name is Aladdin and he has become a very iconic figure in Disney history. Does this film deserve to be called a classic? Let’s see!

Whoops, did I already spoil the plot? Well, that was a rather vague version of it anyway. Princess Jasmine is to be married to a rich prince as per the Kingdom rules, but she doesn’t like any of them. One day, she escapes to the outside world and meets up with Aladdin. They are soon separated and now they know that they are meant to team up as they try to get back together. Unfortunately, Jafar intends to stop this since he wants the crown for himself. Whoever gets the magical lamp to summon the Genie may end up having a great advantage over the other!

Aladdin is the main lead of the film, but the title probably gave that away. He’s essentially what you would expect for the main character. He likes to defy the authorities and he steals food from the shop owners whenever he can. He talks a really good game (Like 99% of the current film protagonists) and then proceeds to get crushed by the weakest of minions. “You’re only in trouble if you get caught” is one of his most wince worthy moments since he gets caught immediately after saying this. Haven’t we seen enough characters who talk their way to the finish line only to be defeated instantly in combat? I can’t say that it’s very entertaining. Aladdin is also one of those guys who immediately falls in love at the drop of a hat and it hurts his overall character arc. He tends to hesitate a lot, which makes him fall short when the stakes are at their highest. He also tries to lie his way through situations and the fame of being a prince gets to him. He just fell into so many character holes throughout the film that I can’t say that Aladdin is one of the better main characters. He could have been good, but he was a little too generic and not someone that I could really root for.

Jasmine is a pretty decent character and it’s easy to sympathize with her plight. An arranged marriage is like a surprise dinner from your worst nightmares. Nothing will turn out as you’ve always pictured and things will just keep going downhill forever. I don’t know why the Sultan won’t just rewrite the rule, but maybe he doesn’t know that he can actually do that. Jasmine’s pet tiger is pretty intense as well and we can thank him for all of the assistance that he gave Jasmine. Unfortunately, Jasmine goes too far with her plan to distract Jafar and she just should have tackled him or grabbed the staff. It would have been a better way to stop him without degrading herself. It’s no exaggeration to say that the scene did hurt the film’s overall rating. Jasmine was a decent character, but the onslaught of romance scenes threw her down a few pegs.

Jafar is definitely a pretty weak villain. He’s just another guy who wants power and romance as he ascends to the top of the food chain. He wants to become the Sultan as quickly as powerful and he sends in his underlings to do the dirty work for him. When it comes down to a fight, Jafar must rely on his staff since he’s really not a fighter. He does get a big moment at the end of the film, but he spoils it since he didn’t think it through. He should have just protected the lamp from being touched..but he was not yet fast enough. Even without the romance, I wasn’t a fan of Jafar, but it certainly didn’t help his case. Iago was a better villain!

Iago is one of the more sinister creatures in the film since he’ll do anything for money and power. He definitely talks big and he doesn’t really back down from anyone. He’s one of those character’s who’s literally all bark and no bite, but that’s just how his character is. His personality may not be as enjoyable if he was a tough fighter, but that’s up for debate I suppose. It’s hard to see how he could turn over a new leaf, but he does know where the money and power now reside….

Abu is Aladdin’s pet monkey and he’s not one of the biggest supporting characters in the film. He has his moments though and he is probably a decent character for some. I don’t really care for him myself, but he keeps things real. He’s a decent fighter and he always goes all out although he is not quite as nice as Aladdin. He reluctantly parts with his piece of bread and he is pretty sad about the whole thing. I may like him more in the sequel…maybe.

The Sultan is one of the main sources of comic relief for the film. He only wants what’s best for Jasmine, but his thirst for fame and glory blind him to this and he tries for her to get married as quickly as possible. He lacks strength of character so he is easily manipulated by Jafar. It’s too bad for him because the Sultan is still a decent character…or he has the potential to be decent. He plays with his toys during his free time and he can talk a pretty good game. Unfortunately, it is often too little too late and I can’t really forget how he was tricked so many times. He’s charismatic, but you begin to dislike him when you realize how bad some of his decisions are.

Genie is one of the most popular characters of the Aladdin franchise and he’s definitely unforgettable. He basically has unlimited power so he doesn’t need to fear anyone. He gets tricked a few times by Aladdin, but he learns as he goes. Genie doesn’t like to be double crossed and he doesn’t really care too much for being a genie, but he puts on a tough face and endures it. He’s definitely one of the most likable characters in the film and he’s always ready with some good advice for Aladdin. He doesn’t possess a lot of “strength of character” since the lamp is always able to override what he really wants to do. Luckily, that shouldn’t be a problem for him in future appearances.

The animation isn’t bad for this film. I definitely miss the good ole hand drawn days of Disney and this one reminds you why it can be so special. It reminds me of those computer games that were all the rage back in the day. The animation is rather similar. I do think that America was significantly behind Japan at the time in animation, which explains why Transformers and Gundam look better than Aladdin. For what it is, Aladdin still looks good though and you can easily follow what is happening. There aren’t any obvious animation errors. (Although his bread almost appeared to have chocolate in it at some points) All of the character designs quickly became iconic after this film.

There are several songs in this film, but it’s not overdone like in High School Musical. My main complaint would be the fact that it’s really hard to follow the lyrics. The sound effects are too loud during the chase scene so some of Aladdin’s lines can’t really be heard and you’ll get lost midway through the song. The voices were pretty good and the songs were decent, but this isn’t the next “Everything is Awesome” or “Let it Go.” (Although I already forgot the latter one. I need to give that song a listen too….someday) So, the songs didn’t really bother me in this film since the villains didn’t play a major part in it. Nothing’s worse than seeing the villain get a few songs to himself to remind us just how sinister he is!

Unfortunately, there was one extremely wince worthy romance scene that derailed the film faster than a dog will snatch away your bacon from the table. It’s the kind of scene that can really shave a few points off of anything even if it is fairly brief. It’s just something that I don’t want to see in my entertainment and I was surprised that this was in a Disney film. Jasmine decides to distract Jafar with her fake words while Aladdin went for the Lamp. That’s already pretty terrible in itself, but I didn’t expect it to get worse. Unfortunately, words are not enough so Jasmine takes the next step, but it’s a step that should never be taken. There were a lot of other alternatives for Jasmine at the moment and she should have just tackled the villain.

This makes Aladdin look bad as well for two reasons. One, he kept on hesitating and stopping, which made things worse for Jasmine. He ultimately fails in his quest to grab the lamp as well so it was basically all for nothing. The second reason would be the fact that Aladdin allowed this to happen as well. I’d expect some “Brooklyn Rage” (Abridged term) from him and a solid punch. Aladdin could likely beat Jafar in a fist fight and he would just need to prevent Jafar from ordering the Genie to help. That really wouldn’t be too hard for him and then Jasmine could grab the lamp. So, what I’m saying is that drastic measures, which involve degrading yourself to stall the villain is basically a no no. The scene shouldn’t have happened and the fact that Aladdin still failed was pretty awful.

Aside from that scene, the film also does have a lot of romance stuff in it. That’s not typically a good thing and I wouldn’t say that it’s handled all that well here either. The flirting can be pretty irritating after a while and it’s even worse if you don’t care for the two main characters that much. Romance typically doesn’t have a place in any film and this one overdoes it.

At least Aladdin has no trouble with its pacing. A lot of events happen in the short runtime of the film and the plot changes from one scene to the next. Most of the characters got their necessary development and the villain had time for two different plans! Unfortunately, I still didn’t end up liking the characters all that much, but Disney tried. At least I did like (some of) the animal characters in this film. The tiger was hardcore and the birds were also cool. There aren’t many action scenes in the film, but they’re fairly good and the danger scenes inside of the cave of wonders are also well done. The film definitely had a lot of potential.

Overall, Aladdin is definitely one of Disney’s most well known films, but it’s definitely no all star. Frozen would wipe the floor with this film and Aladdin just hasn’t aged all that well. It should be noted that I’ve never been a fan of desert films as it is. (Although that wasn’t really a negative in this film) Aladdin can be a fun watch for the family, but there are just too many scenes that aren’t funny or enjoyable. The critical scene that I mentioned earlier is ultimately what destroyed the film for me. Of course, there were also several other romance scenes that were pretty bad. If you really don’t mind romance and are just happy to see the heroes come out on top no matter how they got there…then you may enjoy this film. Still, if you want to watch a fun animated film, I’d recommend checking out Megaman NT Warrior The Program of Light and Darkness! You won’t be disappointed as that one features the greatest character of all time and some epic action!

Overall 4/10

Scooby Doo Wrestlemania Mystery Review

Posted on August 11, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for the next Scooby Doo adventure! The franchise has always been pretty fun and it’s good to see that it is powering along. The films won’t be stopping anytime soon so the Mystery Gang can continue to prove that they are the best in the biz. This one features some famous wrestlers as well, but will they be of help to the gang..or a hindrance!? It’s going to take everything that Scooby Doo has and more if he wants to save the day!

The film opens with a poor jogger getting attacked by a monster. He puts up a fight, but he’s definitely outmatched. Can this monster actually be real!? Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby Doo win a contest by completing their favorite wrestling game. They can now travel to WWE city and show the world what it means to be a fan. The rest of the gang is coerced into coming along via black mail. Unfortunately, they find out about the bear incidents that have been occurring in town. They quickly band together to solve the mystery, but the stakes are high. WWE’s reputation could be tarnished forever if the bear shows up during their big event. It’s a good thing that Fred’s always prepared.

It’s definitely interesting to have real people in the film aside from Scooby and friends. Because of that, there are actually live action segments in the opening credits! I have to say that the opening was one of the best ones that we’ve seen in Scooby Doo though. The song was pretty catchy and the explosion began things off on a good note. After that, it was time to get ready for the mystery. So, quickly I shall talk about each of the main characters and also about the suspects.

Scooby Doo is basically the main character of this adventure. We already know that he’s the heart of the Mystery Inc, but we find out that he’s also the most talented wrestler in this film. His role is a little worse than usual though since he is basically a pawn in the grand scheme of things. Not a very flattering way to leave an impression eh? Let’s just say that Scooby Doo doesn’t have a lot of “strength of character” in this installment and he can’t outrun the other animals. His final fight scene almost helps to fix this, but it’s not handled as well as it could be in terms of courage. Scooby Doo is the heart of the team…but that’s not saying much.

Shaggy is also around of course and he’s basically here to get crushed by the big fighters. He gets insulted to his face at one point and he barely bats an eye. That’s a little disappointing for his fans. He’s very slow on the uptake and you can’t count on Shaggy to win the big fights. It was good to see him blackmail the others, but that was really his only hardcore scene.

Velma and Fred are basically non factors in this film. There was a good scene where Fred and Velma had to start backpedaling faster than Microsoft’s Xbox One policies when Shaggy brought out the blackmail. They definitely underestimated him and that’s not a mistake that you really want to make. At the end, we get a really generic scene where Velma becomes a huge wrestling fan and I’ll admit that it was a little sad to see. It was over the top. Daphne doesn’t do so well in this film. She becomes a little too friendly with John Cena and she forgets what Wrestling is really about. She forgot about the integrity of the sport and she also forgot to stay true ti herself and her anti wrestlingness. This was definitely one of her worst films and hopefully she steps it up from here on out.

John Cena is the main wrestler and he really looks good. He looks insanely good! The writers must have really loved his personality since he’s basically Superman in this film. He’s able to stop a giant rampaging bolder with ease. He’s always got his cell phone at the ready to accept the texts and quickly save the mystery gang. He thinks up plans on the fly like when he had to save the city from the EMP. He is portrayed to be a genius and the strongest human fighter out there. I’ll admit that he was definitely pretty awesome in this film. It goes without saying that he was the best character of the bunch.

Cookie is another one of the suspects. He’s the coach who trains all of the wrestlers and his leg was injured a long time ago during one of the matches. Because of this, he doesn’t want Ruben (Enter the next suspect) to become a wrestler. Ruben is a computer whiz, but he wants to be a wrestler and he’s sad that Cookie keeps trying to stop him. One of them’s going to have to give by the end and neither one of them wants to back down. They were both decent characters, but they were about as generic as they come. I slightly preferred Cookie to Ruben.

Time for the next two suspects. Kane is a wrestler from the old days who wants to get back into the ring. He doesn’t talk all that often, but his fists speak for him. He scares a lot of people along the way and he is a pretty mean individual. Mr. McMahon is the head honcho for the wrestling events and he always has a lot of gusto about him. He talks with pride and he seems to love the wrestling events. He’s a pretty reasonable guy and he is the one who brings the Mystery gang in on the action.

Sin Cara is my second favorite character and his design is pretty cool. It can be a little annoying to see that he doesn’t talk. Not that he can’t talk btw…he just refuses to do so. Luckily, he can talk through is dancing and (Super Indestructible) John Cena knows how to translate. Sin Cara has a lot of knowledge from the olden days and he’s a fighter, but he gets one shotted in his first fight with the bear. Luckily, he makes a comeback and he does much better in round 2. Sin Cara may lack John’s physical might, but he’s very quick and that works to his advantage.

Finally, AJ Lee and Ms. Richards round out the list of suspects. AJ Lee is your typical all star female wrestler who always wins and makes sure to verbally and physically pawn Shaggy and Scooby Doo. She never takes a loss on screen and she’s very confident. Could she be the monster? Ms. Richards doesn’t like the Mystery Gang and she’s in charge of security. She wishes that the gang wasn’t on the case and she’s confident in her tech. Nothing gets past her and she could lose her job if the bear attacks continue to occur.

The Fire Bear is one of the most intense monsters to be seen in the Scooby Doo franchise. Whoever it is, The Fire Bear has a good degree of super strength and speed. It actually knocked away a missile that Fred launched and it was able to take out several professional wrestlers even when they were teaming up. It’s the only being to ever give John Cena a good fight in the film and it kicked one fighter across a long distance. I became an instant fan of the monster!

I definitely enjoyed this film and it was one of the better Scooby Doo adventures. It had its problems of course, but it also succeeded in various ways. The soundtrack was probably the best in the series and it was pretty impressive. The theme that played before the fighters took the stage was like something out of Justice League and the opening credits were solid as well. You felt like you were going in to watch a theater film. The soundtrack definitely gets a 4/5 at the very least. It was limited, but effective.

The fights were also fun to watch. Of course, most of the blows were off screen and someone would quickly get in the way so we missed all of the elbow drops. It was still fun to see some high powered wrestling and it was pretty serious business. It was like playing an old PS1 game. The wrestler slowly picks up and opponent and you get a lot of lag before executing the move. The animation may have been choppy, but it was done in an intentional way that made it fun.

The animation is decent. It’s nothing special of course and you can’t really see much improvement compared to a few years ago. Anime from about 10 years ago can likely top it, but Scooby Doo isn’t about transcending its animation limits. It’s about having fun and the animation definitely isn’t bad.

One negative that I would have with the film is the fact that it does drag on a little bit at some points. The ironic part is that the dragged out moments all involve the gang trying to solve the mystery. I guess the wrestling part was just more interesting this time around. I tried to make the detective work more fun by making a guess based off of all the suspects. My early guess was Sin Cara..which may have been a little dicey. Nontheless, I had to stand by him!

It’s also a little sad to see Daphne being to obvious the whole time about her liking John Cena and Shaggy/Scooby Doo shouldn’t be so nervous anymore. They’ve been through a lot worse. Now, it’s for the sake of tradition and all, but I wouldn’t mind a little character development for these guys. Seeing them make the same mistakes over and over again can be a little sad.

Overall, This was a pretty good Scooby Doo film. It stays true to formula. The fighting scenes were surprisingly intense and we also got some Young Justice cameos. Don’t worry, if you miss it the first time, the film makes sure to keep on showing them until you can’t miss the scene! It was also good to see the video games finally get their props and the film was more enjoyable than most of the others. The food scenes may have lacked some heart and I’m not sure about the new scooby snacks, but seeing food is always fun anyway. I recommend this to any Scooby Doo fan and wrestling fans might like it as a nice homage to the show. John Cena definitely gets a lot of feats.

Overall 6/10

Son of Batman Review

Posted on July 28, 2014 by dreager1

Batman has finally gotten another DC film. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s always good to see DC bringing out Batman and Superman films by the dozens. Superman’s have stopped for the time being so Batman really needs to pick up the slack. With at least 2 more films coming up in the near future (5 if you count BVS and the two Justice League films) he’s still doing well. The only problem is that Batman can be a harder character to portray accurately than Spiderman and Sonic. His films should always be masterpieces, but this has not always been the case. I have to say that this film was mildly disappointing, but I wasn’t expecting a whole lot since this wasn’t really a groundbreaking arc. Nontheless, we shall discuss why it did not rise to the occasion and what this means for future DC films. Of course, it’s still not a bad film, it just lacked a few things. (Spoilers will ensue, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum)

The plot can mostly be guessed from the title, but here it goes. Batman actually had a kid a while back and based off of Damian’s origin it must have been around 8-10 years ago. (The comics may say that it happened later and I’ve heard about the accelerated growth, but I’m purely talking from the film’s perspective. It didn’t say anything so we can’t make that assumption…this time. The plot was a little dicey at that point, but we can discuss it more in the latter part of the review.) The League of Assassins are quickly defeated by hired thugs with guns and Talia (Mother of Damian) brings Damian to Batman for safekeeping. Batman decides to keep Damian safe while the kid wants to avenge his father. (His father was murdered by the villains, but I assume that you may have guessed that since this is classic origin story 101 mechanics) Batman is going to have to keep Damian in line before the kid strays onto the dark path. This could get ugly, but Batman has Alfred at the ready. Meanwhile, Slade Wilson, AKA Slade, AKA Deathstroke wants revenge on Damian for an injury that occurred during their first fight.

I’ll admit that I had a lot of fun writing the plot for the film. Time for things to get a little more serious as we discuss the pros and cons for the film. The cover is pretty uninspired, but then I look at the other recent DC films and I realize that it could have definitely been worse. This cover just won’t stand out at stores and it could hurt sales, but it doesn’t impact the overall rating at all. Just a little sidenote.

The first thing to mention is the fact that the opening fight scene is not interesting. See, the first scene in a film is typically about the Uncle Ben figure dying, The Parents of the main characters being awesome, The Big villain doing something like blowing up a city, or something else. This film goes the first route and we all know what to expect from the trailer so it’s supposed to be visually exciting. That’s not what happens I’m afraid. I felt like DC took a few cues from Marvel in this film and that’s Never a good thing, at least in the animated world.

The intro is exactly the same as the intro to Ultimate Avengers. Instead of aliens we have guys with guns, but it’s the same effect. Instead of focusing on making the hand to hand epic and dodging lots of bullets with acrobatics, we have the famed splash effect from bleach. Every stab is followed by a splash and a poor villain gets crushed by another villain. The violence isn’t that bad, but it is continuous. Every slash has more blood splashes and it’s more unnecessary than anything. What made it a little worse is the obligatory eye stab.

For me, that’s always been a no no. I wear glasses, which may help, but I’ve never enjoyed that kind of violence. I find it more grotesque than anything. It happened in JL War as well and it seems to be a new trend. Not necessarily that this will happen every time now, but the New 52 lineup of films seems to be going for this new blood effect. It would seem that these kind of fights will be present a lot more. I prefer seeing a lot of energy tossed around because blood everywhere unnecessary. This is likely not the most violent DC animated film so far, but it definitely contends and it’s at least in the top 3. It’s something to consider if you don’t care for it, but it’s nothing that will make you look at the rating again. It’s just a little unexpected for DC. (Something I’d expect more from the Marvel animated films pre current era)

Another thing that I didn’t care for in the intro is the guns vs swords scenes. I agree that the swordsmen should be doomed and the film got that right. Then we move on to Talia and Ra’s. You’ll likely need to stifle a grin or fill your mouth with popcorn quickly because it’s hard to believe what you are watching. 3 guys block the doorway to where Ra’s is and they start firing their bullets. After they’re already firing, Ra’s runs towards them. He deflects a few bullets and jumps into the air rather dramatically. Then he slices the first guy and slices the second guy. None of the bullets hit him and none of them hit Talia or Damian either. I know that humans dodging bullets with ease because they have a costume on is superhero 101, but they could have made it more believable. It was one of the most unconvincing scenes that I have ever experienced.

It was to give the three of them props of course since they’re the only League of Assassin members who can fight, but it was too much of a stretch. The film should have at least given them mech suits so they could just endure the bullets. My final problem with the intro would be Slade, but I’ll cover that in his section. As you can see, I had a lot of problems with the intro, but things always get better once Batman appears to save the day and remind us why he’s one of the best comic book characters. (Superman will always be the best of course)

Batman is the main character of course, but he basically gets the same amount of screentime as Damian. My main problem is that Batman is portrayed to be a very inexperienced crime fighter who talks a good game, but can’t really back it up. He’s also more of an Iron Man character in that he’s a bit of a romanticist in both hero and superhero forms. That’s not how Batman is supposed to be. I say that he looks very weak and inexperienced due to the Killer Croc fight scene that occurred at the beginning of the film. “I’m not done with you Croc” is Batman’s epic line as he tries some tricks. They don’t work and he quickly turns to run, but Killer Croc just knocks him to the ground. After that, Batman takes a pretty big beating and he’s saved by Talia. That was incredibly embarrassing. That’s Batman’s very first scene and he’s crushed by a villain that he has a lot of experience fighting. There’s really no excuse for this and especially not after Batman’s tough talk.

Things only got worse for the Caped Crusader as we find out that he was drugged and tricked into having Damian. He forgot about this affair of course, but then he admits that it was enjoyable or part of it was. No…..No way is this the Batman that I remember. That was terrible and I already couldn’t take the design that they used in this film seriously. Whoever wrote the script must have taken a nap during that part and then someone added it in. The rest of the film is Batman being outdone by Damian at every turn, but Batman does get to outshine Robin. He tries to redeem himself by beating up Slade, but it doesn’t really work considering the villain’s portrayal in this film. Batman did have some glimpses where he appeared to be a good character, but they were very short and far apart. Wrecking Batman isn’t an easy thing to do so the film can be proud of this…maybe.

Damian is a big focus in the film and it shows his change from Assassin to crimefighter. He’s pretty unbearable as Damian and his scenes can be pretty wince worthy. As you know, I don’t care for kids as protagonists in live action due to the bad acting, but also for animation when they are shown to be kids. (Shows like Naruto avoid this by having the character be kids in theory, but they are portrayed as adults and basically animated as such) Knocking down Wayne’s trees was pretty uncalled for since he must have known what he was doing and he constantly made things hard for Bruce. Batman has a secret identity to hide after all and that’s why I keep addressing him by different titles. Damian nearly blew Mr. Wayne’s identity and I’m sure that some people will put two and two together. (Rich guy + new kid and Batman suddenly has a kid sidekick….hmmmmmm) Luckily, Damian’s better one he becomes Robin. We don’t get a whole lot of that yet, but the sequel should show more of this. He does pretty well against Deathstroke and he’s certainly a tough fighter. I wouldn’t mind if he was a little less full of himself since he can’t back it up yet, but he’s getting there. He just needs to learn how to fight a clean and honorable battle, but Batman will teach him. I think the film went a little overboard on his rebellion faze and seeing him outsmart Batman at every turn was more insulting than cool. Nontheless, he has the potential to be a solid character. He’s no Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, or Tim Drake, but he upholds the Robin legacy.

Nightwing is what you’d call a filler character. He has no point in the story and he’s just there as a guest star. Naturally, this means that he doesn’t get to fight anybody off screen and he’s actually used to hype someone else up. He gets his hero moment at the end of course, but it could have been a lot better. Nightwing is a great character so he should have gotten a fight of his own or at least a better role. I’m all for quick guest star roles, but the guest star should look good. That’s really the whole point of having a guest star.

Slade is probably the biggest joke in the film. Getting beaten by a kid is disgraceful in itself, but he also ran away from a 400 year old man. That was his first scene by the way! I knew right then and there that Slade was going to look pretty bad and that’s basically what happened. The film shows that he’s not confident about his skills, which is why he had to turn and run. Batman managed to take him out in a few seconds when they fought so Slade realized that he only stood a chance against a kid. After that, he plunged towards a vat of acid and I had to wonder why this guy calls himself Deathstroke. Sure, he can threaten defenseless citizens, but he’s definitely not much of a fighter. I definitely did not like him in this movie.

Finally, a character who did look pretty good. Of course, one can argue that she was a little too perfect and the argument would have many valid points. That being said, I’ll take a character who’s too good than someone who’s not good enough. Talia is the resident hand to hand specialist and she saves Batman after she saved The League of Assassins. Remember that she did both of these things within the first 15 minutes of the film. The film essentially turned her into a DC version of Black Widow and she is already significantly tougher than the Avenger. She could have easily been one of the best characters…until we remember how Damian came to be. Then we remember the cringe worthy Batman scene where she reminded him of this and then she drops down the character ranks. So, she could have been a pretty epic character, but scenes like this don’t do her any favors.

Ra’s Al Ghul is only around for the beginning of the film, but he made for a decent villain. He doesn’t really have much of a personality and he’s just a generic tyrant who wants to rule the world, but at least he can fight. We even got some good afterimages for his character when he was fighting. Ra’s may have been a big threat to Batman back in the day, but he’s always getting defeated lately. It may be time for Batman to find a new villain.

Killer Croc is here to remind us that this is still Gotham City and the villains haven’t faded away just yet. He beats up Batman so he fulfilled his role as a villain. It’s a little sad for him in prison since it must be boring in there, but he’s gotta serve the time. It was just fun to see him be featured in a film since he doesn’t get quite as much screentime as the other big Batman villains.

Alfred doesn’t get a huge role here, but he makes sure to get most of the punchlines and quick jabs at Damian in the form of witty comebacks. It’s hard not to root for Alfred since Damian can be pretty obnoxious to him. His role is very small, but that’s how Alfred roles. It’s best to have him in small doses or they may wreck his character arc like in the Dark Knight Rises. Alfred’s a solid character and that’s all I can ask for.

Ubu is one of the only named villains in this film and he’s not very skilled. Every big villain has a few disposable minions and this guy fits the bill. He has a gun and he’s not afraid to use it. He’s also got a pair of claws that instantly propel him from generic grunt level to Master Assassin (Slade) level if the film is to be believed. He gave Damian a pretty close fight like Slade and while he was soundly defeated in the end, he gave it his all. Ubu is extremely unlikable though and the film makes sure to show this to us. It’s rather unnecessary as well. We know that Ubu is already a convict after all…do we need to know more?

The music for the film definitely inspired. It’s virtually nonexistent, but that is really the case for most superhero films. The animation is a little dicey. It definitely doesn’t scream 2014. It would have looked sharp around 8 years ago or so, but it just didn’t click. It actually reminds me a lot of Avatar The Last Airbender. The Gotham scenes at night are still good and night scenes are a very important part of the battle. The Daytime scenes were a little too unremarkable though. This could have played into why the fight scenes weren’t very interesting, but there are other reasons as well.

Now, the review has been pretty negative up til now. It was pretty unavoidable because the film had a multitude of mistakes. It wasn’t all bad though. The film still had a lot of action and Batman had some good moments. Damian can only improve from here and it’s always fun to see Nightwing’s real design. Alfred is a good supporting character and the sequel can afford to have a better plot since the introductions are out of the way. I do prefer this film to The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One. As least, I believe so. Technically, this one has a lower rating than those so it’s possible that I liked them more than I remember….it’s possible. It could also be like the MCU where the films are all so close to each other that I keep on switching them around. (Luckily, Avengers and Cap 2 are immune to this)

Overall, This was not the best Batman film. I didn’t have very high hopes for the film based on the storyline that it was adapting, but the trailer proved to be more exciting than the film. (Much like DBZ Battle of Gods) There wasn’t enough Batman in it. I don’t just mean the character, but the universe. The stakes just weren’t high in this film and parts of it didn’t feel like a superhero film. That’s not good since the film is only 70 minutes when it should have been longer to flesh out the characters and give Bruce more time to help Damian become a better person. Because of how short it was, Batman basically ditches Damian from the start, which makes it easy for the kid to do whatever he pleases. The film was a little overly violent and the villains were pretty terrible, which didn’t help matters. The whole plot with the Manbats didn’t add anything to the film and seeing them all get stuck in a tunnel and then eaten by Sharks wasn’t fun either. There was just no reason to add these creatures and it basically added a form of animal violence to the mix. They barely count as animals luckily so it’s not quite as bad as it could have been, but it still wasn’t fun to see. The animation could have been better and I’d like a solid soundtrack as well. That being said Batman fans may enjoy this film so I wouldn’t totally rule it out. Just know that this isn’t the Deathstroke that we are all used too. Watching the characters casually dodge bullets can also be fairly amusing. I’m not sure how I feel about this film getting a sequel, but it definitely has room for improvement and I could see several of my negatives being fixed for that one. Bringing Batman back to his current status if Master of all Trades will be a good start. If you want to see a really well done Batman film, check out the Batman Gotham City Racer video game and then rethink if you really want to see a Batman film.

Overall 5/10

Transformers Review

Posted on July 5, 2014 by dreager1

Nothing beats the original Transformers film and that never changes no matter how many times I see it. It’s easily the definitive robot film and I actually don’t believe that any will ever be able to pass it. Nonstop action and a solid cast of characters keep this classic afloat and after Transformers 4, it was time to relive the good ole days. Get ready for an emotional war as the Autobots and Decepticons have their climatic clash!

The plot starts after most of the TV show events have already occurred. The Decepticons have a huge advantage thanks to the fact that they have already conquered Cybertron and the Autobots seem to be very weakened. The heroes are low on energon and they only have a city on Earth as well as a pair of moons. The Decepticons decide to destroy this resistance once and for all and a climatic battle ensues. Meanwhile, the legendary Unicron is on his way to Cybertron and he’s already conquered several planets. Defeating him is basically out of the question at this point. Can the Autobots even afford to worry about him with all of the Decepticons who are around? Only time will tell!

The film is really fast paced and so many plots develop throughout the course of the film. This is considering that the film isn’t even a full 90 minutes! The first half hour is easily the best part of the film as we witness a big Decepticon invasion and the heroes heroically try to fend them off. It’s emotional and the fight scenes are just intense. The film doesn’t really slow down until we get to the planet of Junk where the film gives the audience a brief rest. After that, it’s time for the climax against the planet eater.

Ironically enough, the climax is one of the least exciting parts. After the first 50-60 minutes of nonstop action and battles between the two sides of Transformers, the final half hour is a little uneventful. We have a water planet, the junk planet, and then a quick battle against Unicron. It’s still solid of course, but nothing beats the first chunk of the film. All of the classic fighters get their chance to show what they’re made of.

Optimus Prime is still the fearless leader of the Autobots and this continuity was easily his best portrayal. Prime means business and he effortlessly takes out quite a few Decepticon warriors. His climatic battle against Megatron is still famous and the battle was very well done. Prime is essentially the perfect main character and he really had no flaws in the film. I doubt we’ll ever see him look quite this good again, but he’s consistently been a solid character across the multiverse anyway. His shotgun/cannon also looks impressive and it’s definitely one of the stronger weapons in the film. He may not have gotten a very large role, but it was definitely a critical one.

Megatron is also an excellent villain. He is a great leader for the Decepticons and his plan is a solid one. Infiltrating Autobot city nearly ended the war in an instant. He took out quite a few Autobots and he seems to have a lot of energon since he was fighting all day. I will admit that I was always surprised with the fact that Megatron begs for his life at one point. I suppose that he doesn’t care what he has to do in order to defeat Optimus Prime, but as Prime said “I thought you were made of sterner stuff.” Megatron is able to get past this thanks to the fact that he’s an awesome villain and the film wouldn’t have been the same without him.

It was good to see Grimlock since I really didn’t like his portrayal in TF 4. This is the Dinobot that I remember and he’s acknowledged as one of the strongest Autobots. There’s a reason why Prime sent the Dinobots to take out Devastator! Few other robots could have been challenged with such a task. Grimlock may not have crushed Devastator, but he did pretty well with the other Dinobots. (The other Dinobots are cool as well and I believe that Slag may have done more damage than Grimlock, but their roles were a lot smaller so I won’t really be talking about them) Grimlock even humors Wheelie for a while and then takes command of a huge army of Sharkticons. That’s what I’m talking about!

Hot Rod is essentially the main character of the film and this is how I became a big fan of the character. He may have gotten a little watered down in the comics that came out after this, but he still looks pretty good in the film. He shoots at the Decepticons upon seeing them and then he embarks on a dangerous journey with the others so that they can mount a counter attack. When he finds out that the Matrix has been stolen, Hot Rod immediately says that they should attack and get it back.

Now, his only sad moment is when Megatron is able to easily overpower him and shoot Prime. It’s a controversial move since it can be said that Prime would have won otherwise. I am confident that Megatron would have still shot him, but maybe it would have only been once instead of several times. It’s definitely a debate, but Hot Rod’s intentions were sound and he really did try to help. It just turns out that his power was feeble compared to Megatron’s and he never stood a chance. He still pulls through when it counts and that’s what ultimately matters. He officially ended the wars and changed history!

Bumblebee gets a very small role in the film and he only gets a line or maybe a few more. His design is definitely interesting and it’s one of the only ones from G1 that didn’t really become mainstream. I will always prefer this version since he can talk to most of the others, but he definitely wasn’t a star in this film. He doesn’t even say thanks at the end when Daniel saves his life. It was still good to see him get a cameo though.

Unicron is the big bad villain of the film and he makes for a solid threat. Instead of talking tough and doing something gritty to call attention to himself, Unicron just destroys the planet in one fell swoop. After that, he sets his sights on Cybertron and it’s a pretty epic journey. He takes out two moons for fun as he gets closer and closer to his goal. His attack on Cybertron is also one of the few times where we actually get to see Shockwave mobilize the troops so that was cool. (Although the Decepticons did not last for very long) Unicron’s decision to transform into robot mode was his big mistake. The enemies quickly took advantage of this and Unicron is essentially defenseless in this form. It’s why I am opposed to villains being too large. It just makes them vulnerable in the end. Ignoring that, he was still a pretty solid opponent for the Autobots and his voice was nice and menacing. Not even Megatron was able to stand up to his tricks.

Galvatron is the new villain who was introduced for the film. He’s not as new as you may think, but that’s another story and you’ll realize this as you watch the film. His arsenal is impressive and taking on Starscream is a pretty good feat. The scene should be pretty cool if you’re a fan of Galvatron or if you’ve just wanted to see this happen to Starscream for a while now. Galvatron talks tough throughout the film and he can back it up with his high amounts of power. You have to respect the fact that he never gives up and keeps on trying to make his plans succeed. He’s just in a very difficult position to make this actually happen. He is a very good villain for the film.

Wheelie is definitely the worst Transformers robot. His voice is definitely tough to understand and you stop trying after a while. The rhymes were a little over the top. I do applaud the fact that the film tried to make the voices unique, but it just didn’t work this time. Wheelie ends up sticking around through the next TV show, but I can’t say that it was a good thing. He doesn’t really bring down the film a whole lot, but he’s still unnecessary.

Wreck Gar is from the Planet Junk and he talks in radio signals mixed in with TV. It’s very hard to understand him and I can’t say that I liked him as a character. It helps that the whole Planet of Junk was a little uneventful and I didn’t like the Piranha world that much either. Wreck Gar just doesn’t really add much to the plot and I’m a little skeptical on how that junk would be so sturdy. He must know something that I do not.

Kup is one of the major players in this film, but he’s never been one of my favorite Autobots. He can fight and he has a lot of experience, but it just wasn’t enough to win me over. He’s not a bad character, but he’s really not the type of guy that I tend to find likable. He’s just too old and he doesn’t fight all that much. He talks a good game, but he typically can’t back it up. Still, he did pretty well when he took out the tank so I give him props for that.

Ultra Magnus is one of the major Autobots and I used to think that he was a powerful fighter based on the name. I’m sure that he’s tough, but there’s nothing to really suggest that he’s tougher than the other Autobots in this film. I’m definitely a fan of his, but the film really tried to show why he wasn’t a terrific leader. He didn’t have time to worry about his comrades and his one on two fight didn’t go over so well. Dropping the Matrix of Leadership was likely his biggest mistake. It would have been great if Ultra Magnus could have went down putting up more of a fight. He may not be the next Prime, but he’s still a likable Autobot.

Daniel is the new human companion to the Autobots, but he isn’t a great character. He means well and he helped the Autobots to become aware of the Decepticon threat, which likely saved many bots. However, he just wasn’t much of an asset to the team and he didn’t figure out how to use his energy gun until the climax of the film. Also, asking the Autobots what happened to Spike during such a dangerous situation was a little on the dicey side and he even broke the great air board from the intro of the film. He’s still a step up from the protagonist of the Transformers Trilogy.

Spike was one of the main characters from the TV show, but he doesn’t get a huge role in the movie. He decides to leave Unicron a little present in the form of a bomb, but he took too long admiring his craftsmanship to make enough time to escape. I can’t say that he was very likable, but he wasn’t a bad character either. He was just pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and he definitely panicked a lot when Daniel hesitated to save his life. I suppose that it was understandable though….

Arcee doesn’t look very good in this film and it was before the big social wave that helped to make female characters much stronger in today’s media. This is before Arcee became the pro fighter that we see in Transformers Prime. She helps Daniel out through the tough times, but she never gets a chance to fight back. I would have liked to see her fight some Decepticons and the closest that she comes to this is when she breaks one of the tires on an enemy car when the Junk bots attack. So, she definitely couldn’t look as good as the other Transformers without any fight scenes, but she was all right I suppose. Definitely needed some action though.

Starscream really steals the show for the Decepticons. He’s the one Decepticon in the film that I prefer to Megatron. His shreeky voice is iconic at this point and some would even say that it is more memorable than Prime’s or Megatron’s. That may go a little far, but it’s definitely one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of Transformers. This is Starscream as he was meant to be portrayed and the fact that he directly insults Megatron instead of beating around the bush is intense. “How do you feel mighty Megatron!” as Starscream kicks him while he’s down. His lines to Megatron as he throws him out of the starship are great as well and he even got to wear a crown. It’s hard to find any character that’s as good as Starscream.

Soundwave gets a pretty small role in the film, but he is the only Decepticon to show any loyalty to Megatron. He may not have stopped the others from throwing him off of the ship, but he did save him from the being left at the Autobot base. Soundwave’s definitely one of the more useful Decepticons and I’ve always liked him as a character. Letting the constructicons know who was superior was definitely a nice line as well.

The film’s soundtrack is dynamite and just about all of the songs are catchy. The only one that I didn’t care for played during the planet of Junk as they all held hands and danced around. It really wasn’t my type of film and I definitely could have gone without it. Aside from that, it’s hard to even know where to begin. It really makes you feel like you’re watching a theatrical film. The music is loud and it’s energetic. You really get into the fight scenes and they’re well played. The main Transformers theme is easily my favorite tune and I’ve listened to it many times. It ends up making the opening credits really exciting and you know that you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

The animation is also excellent. This film came out in the 80’s and yet, it looks so much better than some 2014 shows like Pac Man and Teen Titans Go. (Still airing in 2014 anyway) This film always helps to reinforce the fact that animation has been on the decline in America. We need to get away from Flash and CGI so that we can go back to traditional hand drawn shows/films. I’ve viewed this film on dvd many times and it’s finally starting to show some wear and tear. The final 20-30 minutes saw a drop in quality, but it wasn’t the film, just the disk. This film definitely deserves the blu ray treatment and then more people can see the epicness from which Transformers was born. The animation definitely holds up very well to this day and I can say with confidence that it is timeless.

Overall, this is not just the definitive Transformers film, but it is the best robot film out there. The cast of characters is excellent and the soundtrack is top notch. The animation pulls no punches and there is action throughout the film. The fight scenes are very well done and the robots focus on winning instead of tearing each other to shreds for a while. This results in accurate shots that take the robot down in an instant. There were only a few characters that I didn’t really care for and things slowed down towards the end, but that’s not a major concern. I highly recommend this film to Transformers fans and to anyone that wants to relive the good ole theater experience. The film is nearly perfect and I doubt that it shall ever be surpassed by another Transformers film. I recommend watching this one whenever you are about to watch the Michael Bay version.

Overall 9/10

Pokemon XY The Strongest Mega Evolution Act I Review

Posted on June 4, 2014 by dreager1

Pokemon is a franchise that continues to grow and it has now gotten a new TV special. Instead of Ash and friends helping out the townsfolk; this special deals with Alain as he tries to become the strongest trainer around. It will be tough and the road is hard, but that’s not going to stop him and Charizard! It was a fun special, but I believe it should have been longer. (No matter what kind of special episode, OVA, or mini movie it is; the item in question should always be around an hour)

I’ve already described most of the plot, but it should be noted that a girl named Mairin gets in on the action. After witnessing an epic clash between Alain and another Pokemon trainer; she takes it upon herself to follow him and learn the secret behind Mega Evolution. Alain doesn’t seem to want her around, but he’s not able to ditch her because of other Mega opponents that are around. He won’t stop until he’s defeated every last one of them!

Alain is our lead in this special and he’s a decent character. Alain is definitely no Ash Ketchum when it comes to personality, but he definitely has some skills. (Of course, Charizard Is doing most of the work…) He tries to be mean to Mairin so that she will ditch him, but it doesn’t work. Beyond that, he tends to be a nice guy, but he also gets straight to the point. He wants to defeat his opponents and that’s what he intends to do. You’re not really able to write a whole lot of personality in a character within 20 minutes so that’s good enough for now. As such, Alain is a bit generic at the moment.

Mairin doesn’t fare much better. She trips quite a lot and it can definitely be a little over the top. She’s definitely out of her league at this point and she has a ways to go. Luckily, she just started her Pokemon journey so this is to be expected at this point. She’s much better than all of the other “Marron” characters that I’ve seen. (DBZ character reference) A solid time skip would work out pretty well for her and she has potential to be a tough trainer. It just won’t be realized at the moment.

Naturally, most of the hype around this special was directed at the Mega Evolutions that were going to be witnessed. The special does a good job of showing just how massive the power upgrade is in this form. The first battle ends up taking down most of the forest in collateral damage. Mega Charizard is always fun to see and Garchomp’s Mega form is very impressive as well. One can watch this special just for the fights because they’re that good. Now more people can accept the fact that Pokemon can definitely keep up with the Justice League or the Avengers.

The overall animation for the special is really good as well. I dare say that it’s slightly flashier than the latest episodes (Which are already awesome) and each attack looks great. The ultimate dragon attack from Blastoise was really large and you could practically feel the power. Every part of the special felt polished and animated to perfection. It’s definitely one of the better animations that I’ve seen in a while.

Unfortunately, the special falls a bit with the soundtrack. It’s very sub par compared to the average array of Pokemon themes and especially in consideration of the recent Pokemon Origins special. The tunes were generic at best and they really did not go well with the fights. That always hurts the overall experience because you need solid music to really be able to enjoy the battles to their full potential.

I recommend watching the special until the very end because we get a cliffhanger. It may be extremely generic, but it’s good enough for me. A generic cliffhanger beats no cliffhanger at all! Hopefully part II comes soon because I’m ready for more Mega fights. I may miss Ash and friends, but I can still enjoy this without them.

Overall, I highly recommend checking this special out. It’s a great way to launch yourself into the Pokemon franchise. The special has heart and a lot of action. Ash Ketchum even gets referenced and it’s in a pretty epic way. Alain better hope that their paths never cross! Their’s also a good intro that shows off a lot of the Pokemon so that you get their Mega Forms can be seen. It’s short as well so there’s no reason not to watch it! Pokemon will always be one of the best franchises out there.

Overall 8/10

Frozen Review

Posted on May 14, 2014 by dreager1

Frozen is one of the highest grossing films of all time and it appears to be highly likely that it will join the top 5. That’s pretty impressive and the film is still out in theaters in case you want to go and check it out. I’ve finally had the pleasure of viewing the film on DVD and it is definitely one of Disney’s better projects. It has a Barbie feeling to it, but with a little more danger and intrigue. Why did Frozen succeed? Well, in the words of a respectable business man turned villain…”Isn’t that the question of the day?”

Looking at the posters and promotions for Frozen; the film always looked interesting but I had no idea on what the plot would be about. Even after I read a review for the film on another site…I still didn’t remember the plot by the end. Plot is a crucial part of a film, but it can be overshadowed by visuals and character development, which is what happens in this film. It does help that the plot does involve some…plot hax. (Or plot holes if you wish. Not in continuity, but more of a suspense for disbelief issue)

The story begins with two sisters, Elsa and Anna. They were great friends until Elsa managed to knock Anna out with a single ice blast. Their parents quickly save Anna, but at the cost of her memories. Anna remembers Elsa, but she believes that her sister is a mere mortal. (Which is a fair assumption) Elsa’s parents tell her to stay in her room for the next 10+ years until she masters her abilities and no one can ever know that she has powers! Unfortunately, Elsa cannot control her powers so she never gets to see another human being until her coronation ceremony. Anna has always wanted to rekindle their friendship and she attempts to do so, but things do not work out. Anna must now track down Elsa and get her to reverse the curse that she has placed on the town. It will be a dangerous trek!

Elsa is arguably the main character although one could make a very strong case for Anna being the true main character. Elsa is a lot more charismatic than Anna and one can sympathize with her plight. I had some issues with it, but I shall address those in due time. Her ice abilities are a lot more powerful than I had imagined and she can definitely hold her own against fellow Disney protagonists. (She could possibly hold her own against the Avengers depending on how thick she can make the ice that she creates.) She also has more common sense than Anna as she realizes that any man who would claim to be in love with someone after an hour or two and then propose cannot be trusted. He’s either greedy, evil, confused or all of the above!

Anna plays a large role in this film. She is a lot more outgoing than Elsa, but she’s also a little more naive. She takes her dangerous situations in stride because she doesn’t really seem to know how much danger she is in. She was involved in the scene that made me cringe a little inside and it definitely hurt the film a bit. I will go into that scene in a short while, but it wasn’t a great moment for the film. Anna’s a good character for the most part, but it’s too bad that she succumbed to the romance part of the film. The romance itself wasn’t a huge issue, but one day is way too quick to make any decisions.

At one point in the film, Elsa creates an Ice Creature to protect her Kingdom. This Ice Monster is pretty skilled in the art of fighting as he quickly takes down a few fighters. His durability is also shown to be at a high level and he’s pretty merciless. At one point, he attempts to destroy one of the main characters and you may find yourself at the edge of your seat as you wonder if the heroes will survive. (So long as you haven’t seen a film in a while) This creature never gets a name, but fans of the film aren’t likely to forget him anytime soon!

Hans is one of the first characters to appear, but he may come across as a little cheesy. As one point, Anna bursts into song and he quickly interrupts her to say that he was thinking the same thing…and then he continues the song. I can’t buy that! Anna should have immediately dashed out of there because coincidences like that don’t work. Hans just seemed really fake and he definitely is not someone that you would want to hang out with. He is one of the fighters who goes up against the ice creature and only one of them gets to walk away. Hans isn’t a likable character and he’s definitely one of the worst ones. Why? You’ll need to watch the film to find out!

Olaf is not someone that you want to cross. Once he realized that Kristoff had gone crazy, he quickly decided to hold him off so that Anna could escape. That’s what I call bravery and he should definitely be considered as a hero. He’s easily one of the best characters in the film and he is always ready for a hug. His body is a little frail, which gets in the way of his heroics, but Olaf never gives up. He’s always ready to risk life and limb to help his friends and hopefully he gets a nice role when he returns for the inevitable sequel.

Kristoff is another one of the main characters and I can’t say that I was a big fan of him. His friends are known as the “love experts” and I really didn’t like them either. Kristoff has his “hero” moment at the end, but it was a little hard to watch. Kristoff was really mean to one of the shop owners, going as far as to call him a thief. (I believe that is the term that he used…or maybe he called the owner a crook) Kristoff has a reindeer by his side named Sven. Sven is decently cool and he’s never afraid to speak his mind. He makes sure to keep Kristoff in line and he also knows when it’s time for Kristoff to take a swim. Once again, I do have to say that Kristoff’s friends weren’t that cool. They didn’t do a great job of helping out in the opening and they had the worst song in the entire film. Their scenes tended to drag on and I believe that they could have been written out.

The one scene that hurt the film more than anything else was the Wolf scene. In it, Anna and Kristoff are forced to throw away their heroic nature as they injure a group of wolves. That was pretty terrible and I lost a lot of respect for both of them. Anna’s still a decently good character overall, but that really threw away her character development. Kristoff never recovered from the incident as well and the film’s score took a bit of a hit. The film also had a lot of romance, but that’s to be expected. I think the film should have cut it out though since it wasn’t needed in this film. If Kristoff and Anna decided to just be pen pals and if Anna and Hans had decided to stay as rivals…then that would have worked out perfectly.

Finally, Elsa’s predicament is pretty hard to believe. How she hid from her sister for about a decade by staying in her room all day is beyond me. The parents made a pretty bad decision in that regard as they left the sisters in that state as they headed off for a cruise or something. Elsa shouldn’t have gone along with this plan and she could have stayed friends with Anna through mail. (Or phone calls if those were around back then) Their first meeting at the ball room could have gone better as well if Elsa had just explained things. She can definitely trust Anna with her secret so that shouldn’t be a concern. Ah well…the plot had to get rolling somehow right?

The animation for the film is decent. The ice abilities that Elsa possessed were pretty impressive visually. Character wise, this isn’t my favorite art style. It’s the way that most American animated films look, but give me the Super Friends or the original Gundam show’s animation any day. There’s something about these visuals that just don’t strike me in the same way.

The soundtrack for the film was pretty forgettable. That is not counting the lyrical songs of course. Elsa’s main song was pretty good when she first goes to the castle in her new hairdo. Beyond that, I can’t say that I really cared for the other songs. I’m not into lyrical songs (for the most part) so that was to be expected. At least it’s not a bad soundtrack!

Overall, this was a pretty solid Disney film. I really got a Barbie feeling from it, which was nostalgic since I used to watch a lot of those films. Elsa is a solid protagonist and her ice abilities are fun to watch. The film had more action than your typical animated film and we really only had one scene that would make you cringe a little inside. I can definitely see why everyone loves the film so much and I won’t mind seeing it in the top 5. It’s a fun film and you’ll walk away remembering how much fun the songs were and hoping that Elsa will be in Kingdom Hearts III. I definitely recommend this film to all audiences. I just don’t see how you can dislike this film unless the Wolf scene is the first scene of the film that you witness.

Overall 6/10

Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 Review

Posted on February 24, 2014 by dreager1

I was just going to call it Mighty 7, but unfortunately Stan Lee’s is always ahead of that part. I will admit that adding his name is sure to help the film do well and it’s a pretty epic name, but Mighty 7 would have been an even better title. Ah well, time to see how Stan Lee successfully shows us that we can still have a happy superhero adventure!

The plot of the film is essentially what you would expect from a superhero film. Aliens have decided to invade Earth and it’s up to Stan The Man Lee, AKA, Super Stan, AKA, Stan Smashing Lee to save the day! He was driving and thinking of new ideas when a spaceship crash landed near him. After some hasty introductions, Stan helped the aliens get to his friend’s mansion that is near the beach. The heroes are going to have to learn to follow Stan Lee’s advice if they are going to have any chance of defeating the powerful aliens!!

The main villain is Xanar and his power levels are definitely considerable. It’s not unreasonable to assume that he could defeat several of the heroes in a one on one fight. He’s essentially the Lizard…so he’s a pretty uninspired character. I can’t say that I cared for the villain and I’m hoping that he doesn’t come back for the sequel. He can jump around a lot, but that’s basically all that he can do.

The real villain is Mr. Cross and he’s a member of the government! He seems to think that he’s doing the Earth a service by taking the heroes down, but he has misinterpreted the situation. He actually captures Stan The Man Lee at one point, but things don’t go very well for Cross. One simply does not try to capture someone like Super Stan! Still, this is someone that I can root for as a villain and if the ending is anything to judge by, he’ll definitely be back. I can’t wait to see him defeat Strong Arm and then take on Stan Lee.

Unfortunately, the main team of aliens aren’t very likable. Strong Arm is the leader of the group and he acts as the hero. Unfortunately, he actually turns out to be one of the meanest heroes and he isn’t likable. He doesn’t want to protect Earth since it’s outside of his jurisdiction and he’s always trying to show the world why Lazer Lord is a villain. Strong Arm thought that he saw Lazer Lord commit a criminal act, but he was probably seeing things. He’s just not someone that you can root for. He’s certainly not the next Captain America, but I suspect that the writers were trying for us to dislike Strong Arm. If so, they succeeded!

Lazer Lord is another one of the big players and he used to be a respectable hero. The only problem was that he was framed for destroying someone and then Strong Arm made sure that he was taken to court. Lazer Lord escaped and that’s how we get to the Earth subplot. He wants to save the planet from the aliens, but Strong Arm and the other heroes quickly stop him. To their defense, he didn’t bother to tell them that he was after an alien and they just thought that he had cracked. He definitely could have explained things a little better! He does have the best power (aside from super speed) and he’s definitely one of the tougher members. He’ll be critical in the sequel!

Silver Skylark is Strong Arm’s partner, but that doesn’t mean that she’s quite as petty or annoying. Silver Skylark is always willing to give people a second chance and while she’s not the best fighter of the group, she definitely seems to be more of a hero than Strong Arm. She hasn’t gotten that much development yet, but we’ll likely learn more about her in the sequel. She’s a decent character overall.

We also have Lady Lightning, who has the power of super speed. It doesn’t even need to be said that super speed is one of the greatest powers of all time. She should be invincible right? Relatively speaking, nobody can really match her in this film. Unfortunately, she gets an unneeded origin that doesn’t help her toughness, but it’s tragic……(This film didn’t need any tragic elements to it!) It’ll be tough for any of the villains to realistically fight her in the sequel, so I’m already guessing that they’ll just use plot hax.

We’ve also got Kid Kinergy and Micro. They get to share a paragraph because it’s easy to mix theme up. They’re probably as bland as a character can get personality wise. Micro is decent since he accepted his name so quickly, but it’s hard to root for him. I can’t really root for either of these guys and their origin story didn’t help matters. All teams have their weak link and these guys would be that link. (If not for Strong Arm) Kid Kinergy does have useful powers, so at least that’s a plus.

We can’t forget about Roller Man……yeah, that’s really his superhero name! I’m guessing that he didn’t give Stan the proper respect. He’s all right at best, but he’s basically a Bouncing Boy ripoff. There isn’t really anything that makes him unique and that’s always a bad sign. I do like his voice a lot since it’s about as annoying as a voice can get. He’s essentially mocking the other characters whenever he talks. It’s usually intentional, which just makes things worse for everyone else. Although, the drinking from the toilet scene was pretty unnecessary. (You may want to back away from the TV for that scene!)

(Super) Stan (The Man) Lee is one of the main characters and I can easily tell you that he’s the best character. Stan Lee isn’t a noble hero and he’s only helping the others so that he can get rich and famous. He always looks out for himself and he’s realistic. At one point, he lets Strong Arm know that he can’t help them save the world because he has bills to pay. That’s a man who knows his priorities! Stan’s best line is when he says, “Fear isn’t in my vocabulary!” as the aliens “threaten” him. I gained a lot of respect for Stan in that scene and that’s tough since I’m already a huge fan!

Stan Lee has a pretty incredible car and he doesn’t let anybody badmouth it! One of the very rude heroes tries to do so, but Stan puts him in his place right away. Stan Lee is definitely a likable fellow and he always speaks his mind. If the sequel is to be as good as this one, Stan Lee will definitely have to play a critical role. Seriously, just about every line that he uttered was priceless! Stan Lee even gets his own car chase scene and we see how he handles an interrogation. This guy is definitely made of sterner stuff!

The Animation may definitely take some getting used too for most. It reminds me of the little cutscenes that you may find in a book or a Burger King/McDonalds video game. I’d say that it’s classic 80’s animation and while it’s definitely no DBZ, it can hold its own against today’s modern entertainment. (Hulk Agents of Smash) Hulk may be better in fight scenes, but at least the teeth don’t glare out at you. There is a really sped up scene where the heroes escape from a burning ship, but it just didn’t work. The scene felt artificial as if the writers wanted the viewers to feel a sense of danger. That definitely did not happen!

There aren’t really any fight scenes in this one so I can’t gauge that too well, but it’ll have to rank as the worst fight scenes in a “serious’ superhero film. Teen Titans Go has better fight scenes and that’s a comedy with a little action. It shows you how bad the fight scenes and animation have become in recent years. DC manages to stay strong, but Marvel and even Stan (The Man) lee can’t stop themselves from using animation that gets out shined by media from over 30 years ago. I would go more into the big animation conspiracy in America, but that would get us off topic very quickly and it’s tough to say in a short manner.

So, the target audience throws the film off a bit. They don’t want to really show any fight scenes, but at the same time, we get some tragic back stories. (None of them were necessary btw) The heroes also have the generic moment where they get surrounded by a lot of enemies and then the screen cuts away as they’re easily knocked out and thrown into a prison cell. I never liked that kind of scene because I want to see the heroes fight. Getting knocked around like that makes them look pretty sad to be honest.

Overall, this was a fun throwback to the old days of superheroes. It was pretty fun and I’d say that it was more entertaining than the current Marvel programs on TV. They may have better fight scenes, but the writing wasn’t quite as good as this film. I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel and I’m hoping that Super Stan will get some more screen time. He definitely stole the show in this film and he singlehandedly kept it afloat. I’m also hoping that we get some more fight scenes in the sequel and that the main character looks better. (If not, then he should be written out of the franchise) One problem that probably won’t be addressed is the fact that none of the characters are really likable aside from Super Stan. Still, I highly recommend this film if you enjoyed the good ole days of Superfriends, Scooby Doo, or the 1960’s Marvel cartoons. If you’re looking for something a little more modernized, then check out ~~Batman The Brave and The Bold~~ Justice League.

Overall 6/10

Justice League War Review

Posted on February 8, 2014 by dreager1

(Spoilers will be included since the Man of Steel ending curse is upon us!) Well, this is the film that we’ve been waiting for since it was first announced. It’s based off of the first Justice League arc in the New 52, but with many significant changes to adapt it for the modern audience. We’ve already had some pretty strong Justice League films in the past, so it would be interesting to see how it stood up to those!

First of all, you must ignore the cover. The cover hints that the animation is the worst that we’ve ever seen from DC and luckily that is not the case. I’m not sure why they decided to use a cover that looks like Kingdom Come style of art, but the live action approach was not necessary and hopefully it won’t affect ticket sales. The plot is pretty simple for the film since it involves a classic alien invasion. These aliens seem like they want to take over the planet and the Justice League members must learn to team up and work with one another. Will they be able to stop these villains!?

I always like to see team origin stories. If DC were to announce that their next film was another case of the Justice League banding together to stop a common threat, I’d still be pretty psyched. The concept doesn’t get old and it’s always fun to see the members meet for the first time since fights will usually ensue. It’s why I enjoyed the recent Avengers film and Ultimate Avengers film so much and why I don’t believe that future installments can pass them. It’s always possible of course, but it’s rare to beat that initial team up!

Since I’m a huge Justice League fan, I will definitely be breaking the film down more than I would for say….A Hulk and Iron Man team up film! (Although the latter should have enough negatives to make for a solid review!) This film is easily one of the best that DC has whipped up and you can expect a pretty high rating, but there were also several areas where I thought that they could improve. I’ll likely alternate between goods and negatives as the review goes on. Let’s talk about one of the most important parts of the film…the characters!

Batman is one of the first fighters to appear and he’s a very good character as you may have expected. There are several scenes that may make you nervous like his first battle against the Parademon. He was actually on the losing side of the battle and that can be a little hard to accept. With a lot of help from Green Lantern, the two heroes manage to subdue the creature. That being said, it may have taken a little more effort than it should have.

Batman got some pretty good props when he managed to steal GL’s Power Ring and we also got to see him take on Darkseid. The big thing that fans were looking forward to was the Batman vs Superman fight and we actually got a rematch as well! Batman looked all right in the 2nd fight and he was clearly outmatched in the first one, but I can live with that. If anyone can overwhelm Batman like that…it’s Superman. He is the strongest comic book character of all time, so it’s only fair. Batman ended up being the best character in the film and he even beat Superman for me in this film, but it may have been due to Superman’s lack of screen time. He basically missed out on the whole climax! A +1 for Batman’s depiction in this film.

Green Lantern is definitely one of the more iffy parts of the film and I’m afraid that it’s one of the film’s biggest negatives. The writers wanted to show us that Hal Jordan is basically a joke who cannot fight for beans. One Parademon is easily overpowering him and nearly destroys him several times. His constructs fall apart far too easily. This is supposed to be funny since he’s constantly talking big, but I can’t say that I liked that. I’m actually a big Hal Jordan fan, so seeing him look so bad was pretty sad.

I actually liked his characterization in the film, but I don’t like the fact that he’s so weak. When Darkseid shows up, Green Lantern is the first one to charge in and fight, but he looks extremely bad. I’m not completely sure who I would choose in a straight fight, (No composite) but either way it would be a very close battle and not as one sided as the film would have you believe. Hal actually gets one of the biggest roles from all of the characters in the film so his scenes can be a little tough to watch for his fans.

Superman is back with his new personality in this film. In the New 52, they tried to make him a little more like Batman. He’s definitely not quite as intense as he was in the DCAU, but he’s all right. I can’t say that I liked many of his lines during the second half of the film, but he started out as a pretty cool character. I still liked him by the end, but his lines about how almost nobody understands him felt a little out of place. It was good to see his skills being used a lot as he beat Batman and Green Lantern without much effort.

Unfortunately, that’s one of the changes that I think the film should not have made. Flash doesn’t get to fight with Superman in this version like he did in the comic. That’s a pretty bad change since I wanted to see Superman’s complete victory! After Superman’s impressive performance in the beginning, he looks pretty bad during the Darkseid fight. He can’t outrun the Omega Lasers and they also knock him out in a single hit. The film also shows that his will power is not enough to stop him from being mind controlled and letting his morals be corrupted. Finally, he gets a chance to change everything and defeat Darkseid, but he epicly fails in that regard. His portrayal isn’t as bad as Green Lantern’s, but he just looked too weak when it counted and I have to say that I do not like his costume/character design. It just doesn’t look right in this film.

Wonder Woman is also sporting a new outfit in this film. As with Superman’s, it definitely does not work as well as her classic costume. I even prefer the Diana Prince superhero uniform that she used during the early 2000s. Ignoring that, she mainly uses her sword to fight in this version and she’s able to use it to beat many Parademons.

Now, I may or may not have mentioned this in the past, but I don’t like when Wonder Woman has a weapon. It would be like Superman drawing a sword…I just don’t get the purpose. Wonder Woman was raised with the Amazons, so they likely had her train with a blade, but it undermines her strength. She fights without the sword briefly, but I wouldn’t have minded if they cut it out altogether. Weapons are only all right if their unique designs help to compliment the hero’s ability or if they lack any ability like the Punisher.

They ended up cutting out Wonder Woman’s most iconic line in the arc from the movie and that was a little disappointing, but she still gets to defeat many Parademons. Wonder Woman also does pretty good against Darkseid and she lands many hits against him. Aside from her appearances with Superman, she’s a good character in the film. Aside from her very inaccurate fight against Cyborg, they did a good job of showing that she is one of the stronger members of the JL.

The Flash is in the movie, but you can easily forget that at times. He definitely has the smallest role in the film since they cut out his most important scene. Sure…he’s there for the final battle and he beats some Parademons along the way, but he doesn’t really do anything important. I still like him more than some of the other members like Cyborg and Shazam, but it would have been nice to see him do more. His super speed is definitely critical to success and he should definitely be able to take care of the alien invasion without breaking a sweat. His portrayal was essentially dead on and the only one that I can say was just about perfect aside from Batman.

Cyborg is in this film since this was during DC’s big push to make him a Justice Leaguer. I wish that they would just give up on that already since I’ll never accept him as anything other than a Teen Titan. His subplot is the only part of the film that you can maybe find a little dragged out. The process of turning into Cyborg definitely took a while and while it was easy to sympathize with him, I wouldn’t have minded if they had just fast blasted through his origin. I actually liked his teammates, but his father was very unlikable. Mocking the sport of Football is simply not done! He definitely should have attended the game and he wouldn’t have missed anything since the action didn’t happen until after the game. It was a decision that the father may regret! (Did I mention that Steve Trevor gets a pair of cameos along with Lois and Jimmy? Well, they look like decent characters, which is good!)

Unfortunately, to “prove” that he can be a member of the Justice League, the film makers hype him up a lot. He defeats Wonder Woman in one hit and while she is not completely passed out, it did enough damage to let the league know that he was serious. He also defeated her in the Doom film. They’re giving him wayyyyy too many props lately and he also gets to save Flash’s life. I definitely don’t mind the character, but they just shouldn’t add him into the films if it will make everyone else look worse. Aside from that, Cyborg is still a good addition to the roster.

Shazam was added instead of good ole Aquaman and it was definitely a mistake. He’s just not a good character and he looks really bad. He is completely missing his power and his attacks seem like they don’t really deal any damage. Instead of using his physical abilities to defeat his opponents, Shazam uses a lot of thunder abilities. As with the whole weapons issue, I don’t like this. If the thunder abilities actually looked good, then that would be okay. Unfortunately, the blasts look weak and it just makes his whole character look weak. Shazam is also mean to the other kids who are around and it’s hard to be sympathetic with him. He’s easily the worst hero in this film. He’s so much weaker than Superman that a Trinity War film will not make any sense if it comes out.

The Parademons get a significant power upgrade in this film and we see them match up against opponents like Green Lantern! They have a good amount of super strength and at first, Batman can barely make them budge with his punches. Later on, they seem to grow weaker and Batman is able to take several of them out. Perhaps their life points are directly linked to Darkseid’s…..or the first Parademon was the leader. That would make the most sense since he was easily the most impressive villain. It’s easy to root for the Parademons and they’re fun villains, but the origin story was a little unneeded.

Darkseid is the big boss of the film and he’s a decent villain. He feels more like a mindless monster than anything, but he does have a mechanical voice. It may help you question whether he is truly alive or merely a cyborg at this point. He is very large in this film and he completely towers over everyone in this film. Unfortunately, like with Cyborg, the producers try too hard to show off how powerful he is. This makes heavy hitters like Shazam and Green Lantern look terrible in the process and Wonder Woman/Superman don’t look as good as they should.

Darkseid constantly takes hits from Shazam and Green Lantern without actually taking any damage and he also proceeds to overwhelm Wonder Woman and Superman. The latter two do all right overall, but it’s because Darkseid is outnumbered and forced to deal with them all. They make sure to show that he could easily defeat them all if it were a one on one fight. He looked very strange when it was crawling on all fours when going after the Flash and it felt like a horror movie. Darkseid is still a cool villain like always, but this is easily his worst incarnation. He comes across like Galactus from the EMH show…less of a character and more of an object. Still, it’s always good to see him take on the League!

The Animation for this film is solid as expected from DC. It’s definitely a lot better than what Marvel is dishing out and I hope that DC continues to use this style for the rest of their films. One problem that I had was with the special effects. The characters all seemed pretty weak during the fight scenes and it was because they took out the shockwaves. Usually when a Strong character shows up, they’ll add a little shockwave effect next to the punch so that you can tell that the character is strong. If you don’t get a shockwave, then you’re not usually a fighter. That’s how the DC films have typically went. Unfortunately, in this film…nobody got that extra effect so most of the hits didn’t really feel like they connected.

I have to say that it is why I was not terribly impressed with the fight scenes. They are definitely a few hundred steps up from Marvel and just about any American superhero dvd that you can find, but at the same time, it’s still not quite as good as Crisis on Two Earths, Public Enemies, or Secret Origins’s fight scenes. They’re very flashy in this film, but you can’t really feel the blows for the most part. I would actually compare it to the new DBZ film. The fight scenes were definitely very high budget, but at the same time, you didn’t really feel the blows like the Broly, Bojack, or Cooler films. I’d say that the film uses speed over power, which is all right in theory, but I just missed the power element to an extent. The fight scenes are definitely still solid.

One area where the film suffers a little is with unnecessary violence. Superman actually destroys one of the villains in the same way that he took out Zod. He may have been mindcontrolled, but it was a very obvious way to recreate what happened in Man of Steel and try to make Superman a little more “hardcore” I also didn’t like the fact that they decided to take out Darkseid by aiming for the eyes. I’ve never liked that tactic since it means that the fight scenes will be a lot more violent than they need too. The heroes also act “edgy” since they throw in more than a few casual swear words. It’s nothing serious for the most part, but it can get a little grating on the ears. You wouldn’t catch that back in the DCAU days! One scene that was not needed either was the origin of the Parademons. It’s pretty gruesome and there were many other ways that we could have learned their origin instead. Superman’s scene didn’t seem to be as graphic as in the comic, which was definitely a plus, but the film definitely had more violence than was necessary.

One last part that could be a little worrisome is how weak the Justice League is. Batman is technically still a human, but it’s the others who don’t look so impressive. Green Lantern definitely can’t fight with the big guns. Wonder Woman and Superman are tough, but they were already outclassed by Darkseid. Cyborg is basically just a human with metal and a cannon and the Flash usually has to deal with plot hax to inhibit his abilities. Shazam is just downright weak. (Which seems to be the latest trend for him. Check out Young Justice) This will mainly just be a worry for Trinity War, but it’ll be interesting to see how they look in the next film. If Ocean Master takes them out…then things could get dicey!

Overall, this was a solid DC film. It’s a really big film (Not by runtime, but by content) so I tried to get in all of my thoughts, but I probably just got most of them in. This is one of those films where you’ll always have extra thoughts and that’s always a good thing. I would’t say that it was quite as good as the original Justice League (Secret Origins and Starcrossed) films or as good as Crisis on Two Earths, but it was definitely one of DC’s best films. I’m confident that it will easily defeat the Throne of Atlantis film as well since we got so much action in this one and we also got to see Batman fight with Superman. It was good to see how the new Justice League are portrayed and while some characters can definitely use some improvement, they got Batman’s character down correctly. That’s always the important part. I’m hoping that they do not continue the Superman and Wonder Woman subplot and that they improve the character portrayal for Green Lantern in particular. I definitely recommend this film for DC fans and you should enjoy it as long as you don’t mind changes to the personalities for the heroes. DC continues to hit us with epic films! (Time to wait for Son of Batman, which I’m guessing will get a 6-7)

Overall 8/10

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